Tango+: the only one stop cure to all CCM pain points

Complexity: the predominant CCM pain point

What are the "pain points" of a user and how they can be mitigated; This is a million dollar question in today's software industry. Actually, pain points highlighted or recognised by end user during the walk through / formal meetings are then reported by professional services as new client requirements and those pain points need to be mapped on the cutting edge new features in next version of software; so that software should be marketed as per the needs of customer. Otherwise, software product will be flushed out of the market even before kicking off.

There are several pain points like Cost, Product complexity, Look and feel (User Interface), Product delivery time line etc. but I will address the complexity issue here in this article as this is the pivot point in sealing any deal.

There is this famous quote about people who love to make the things quiet complex for themselves and others.

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” 

― Confucius

Software complexity can be measured in terms of its ease of use. Following capabilities depict the ease of use of any software and Tango + is not an exception.

• Effective - Effectiveness is the completeness and accuracy with which users achieve specified goals
• Efficient - Efficiency can be described as the speed (with accuracy) in which users can complete the tasks for which they use the product
• Engaging - An interface is engaging if it is pleasant and satisfying to use.
• Error Tolerant - An error tolerant program is designed to prevent errors caused by the user’s interaction, and to help the user in recovering from any errors that do occur.
• Easy to Learn - An interface which is easy to learn allows users to build on their knowledge without deliberate effort. 

The major setback of complexity will be addressed in this article and how Tango+ handles this pain point of our different clients.

Before going into the details of Customer Communications Management (CCM) complexity pain point, let's have a look at the overall picture of CCM; basically CCM harbingers a world of new opportunities in which we ( the software vendors) develop customer relationships through a data-driven approach for creation, delivery, storage and retrieval of outbound communications, including those for marketing, new product introductions, renewal notifications, claims correspondence and documentation, and bill and payment notifications. Multiple media interactions like documents, emails and Short Message Service (SMS) can be generated over a vast range of devices including desktops, laptops, tablets and wearable.

This process of CCM is going through a constant phase of change as clients request new features and highlight the pain points in existing software which is in its use. Hence CCM is well aware of the different stages of evolution these CCM solutions go through and understand that need to improvement never ends.

 The list of acute impediments in most of the CCM solutions available today in the market is pretty long but as during every stage of evolution, there exists the most evolved and appropriate evolution stage. In customer correspondence management Tango+ is the most evolved CCM system and provides a 360-degree solution to all the requirements of Customer Correspondence.

 Following are some exiting features which address the pain points of clients and are introduced in Tango+ for catering all those harrowing issues. These features directly address the impediments (time and complexity factors) of already existing product Tango 3.0.

Hotspot Editor Introduction

Instead of Document Designer... which was used earlier in the last version of Tango; Hotspot editor is very simple and crisp feature. All unnecessary icons are removed. There is a very Light UI with minimal clicks for ease of use.

Handling Hotspots within Hotspot Editor

Hotspot editor is quite customizable. There are multiple hotspots (area which can be used for mapping content while designing documents. Design can be mould according to the end user requirements. User is able to create, delete and assign different permissions (that user can change the location and size of that hotspot in Document Editor) to hotspots. Hotspots can be specified with a type (RTF, Image & Hybrid) so that user can map only relevant content on that particular hotspot. Particular hotspot can be locked so that user can't change its position while working in hotspot editor (it is a different feature from assigning permissions for using it in document editor) in Hotspot Editor.

Fig 2.0: Cause Effect / Fishbone Diagram Depicting the Pain Points of User

Document Editor Introduction 

It is a very appealing feature that uses the design which was earlier modified by end user in Hotspot Editor. User can map content on different types of hotspots which were set ON in hotspot editor. Content won't be map able on the hotspots which are set OFF in the hotspot editor.

Document Editor has a mind blowing trait of "Page Cloning". User can create a new page instance/copy of any page having all the characteristics of that page while working in document editor. user has to enable the permission from hotspot editor in order to use this feature in document editor.

Content Library for handling Content

Content library is a state of the art repository for storing the content for any further usage. In Tango+ Content Library is provided with Document Editor. Content library includes the data fields , uploaded/created content and imported style files for mapping them on the already mapped content in document editor instead of typing the RTF content in the hotspot. Content mapping is just like plug n play hallmark. User has to first select the desired hotspot on which he/she wants to map the content then he/she can perform mapping.

Mapping of (uploaded/created) content (Rich Text, Images, Business Rules, Data Fields) can be performed by just drag and drop or through double clicking method in document editor from content library.

Deletion and Reordering of mapped content within document editor provides the "Ease of access to end user". If user wants to change the position of last mapped content with a multi-mapping hotspot, he/she can use the drag handle to reposition that mapping on top of all mappings or any other location he/she wants.

Live Preview/Data Evaluation

Live evolution of mapped business rules/data fields is possible in Tango+. User is no more bound to wait for the production preview to view the evaluated results of mapped fields and Business rules. It can be done perfectly within Document Editor just by using the toggle button provided in the data navigator tool bar.

Business Rules Creation

As per the definition of Wikipedia,

" A business rule is a rule that defines or constrains some aspect of business and always resolves to either true or false. Business rules are intended to assert business structure or to control or influence the behaviour of the business "

Business rule plays a vital role for Business User. In Tango+, user has got a self-ruling role for creation of its own business rules. Business user can create business rule, use that business rule for mapping it in Document Editor, evaluate the conditions of business rule by using the live preview option. Business rules can be a four types i.e. RTF, Image, Show/Hide page, Styles.

--------------------- About Author: Saqlain Altaf is a Islamabad based Software Engineer having passion of writing, travelling and testing software. He has written blogs on social and professional networks about social policy, environmental issues and professional field i.e. Software QA/Testing.